You're a thinker, ain't ya?

There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous. —Hannah Arendt, 1977 in The New Yorker

This new meme going around is an interesting one. Last time I got tagged, I had to list five little-known facts and seven successes. It was all about me and a bit self-indulgent. As I said in the title of that post, "Did you really want to know all this?" The latest game, "Thinking blogs," is more to my liking, and not just because I'm out of personality quirks to share. I'm always curious what other people are reading, what informs them, and who they think is worth promoting. That China Law Blog thinks well enough of this little project to list me alongside the Granite Studio, Kaiser Kuo, the Useless Tree, Sinocidal and the Peking Duck is humbling, and I think it says more about how far I have to go to understand this country. Anyway, before this gets too incoherent, here's who makes me think, and how they do it: The Humanaught This was the first China blog I ever read, and it's still one of my favorites. Ryan writes an observational blog, but more than that, he promotes the blogosphere. His brainchildren include the Hao Hao Report and Lost Laowai. I'm actually starting to think he has found the ability to bend time, since he's been giving me handy pointers on setting up this blog, along with running his own, and working, and living the life of a newlywed. Or, like Dan Harris at CLB, he doesn't sleep. Something we should know, Ryan? Panda Passport Man, I am so glad Rick is blogging again. He puts me to shame, really. While I noodle around about daily life, his blog is doing something I've never managed: being useful. Before he restarted his blog, he ran a Dalian guide and restaurant listing. Now he's my one-stop-shop for web tools I can't (or won't be bothered to) find on my own. Oh, and he makes a point of highlighting a "China stolen-media-of-the-day," which makes him either complicit in the thievery or a net hero, I'm not sure which. China webmasters This is a brand new one, but it deserves attention. My friend Alex is learning to build a website in China. In the process, he's compiling all kinds of relevant information on the pitfalls, tools and strategies for being master of the web. And, going outside the China blogosphere: Invisible Inkling Another Ryan, another smart guy. I used to live in Santa Cruz, and I used to hate the Sentinel, our local paper. It never covered the university like I wanted, I didn't like its politics, and it was the local paper, and nobody liked the local paper. These days, I look at it and think, "Damn, interesting stuff happening there. And good stuff." This is a guy who's helping make that happen. Teaching Online Journalism This was the first blog I found in what now constitutes half my daily read. Mindy McAdams teaches at the University of Florida, and I suspect many of her students will be the ones who reshape journalism into something vibrant, sustainable and significant as news transitions from print-focused to the web-driven. This always feels a bit like an exercise in guessing who reads my blog. I completely struck out last time, which is partly why I picked people I can call and hassle. Let's see if this round goes better.

A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking.

—Anonymous

Before: A China blog of one's own | After: Intel is coming to Dalian